PS5 review: the upgrade we were hoping for

by



[ad_1]

To convince gamers to spend $ 500 on the next gen, the PS5 relies on updated graphics, a newly redesigned controller and more exclusive games. Notably, the console launches at the same time as “Spider-Man: Miles Morales,” a sequel to 2018 fan favorite “Spider-Man.”

I tested the standard version of the console, provided by Sony before launch, for a week, comparing it to the PlayStation 4 Pro, a mid-gen upgrade released in 2016. I tried demanding games like “Spider-Man: Miles Morales,” explored Sony’s tools for recording and capturing gameplay and noted how the controller felt in my hands.

There is a cheaper version of the PS5 that doesn’t have a disc drive, called the PS5 Digital Edition, for $ 400. Otherwise, both consoles have the same technical specifications, but you will need to download or stream all of your games for digital edition.

How it works

Let’s take a look at what games look like on the PS5 first.

More and more TVs are 4K these days, so for anyone still using an original PlayStation 4 that only plays games with 1080P screen resolution, the PS5 offers a nice 4K upgrade. But for someone with a 2016 PlayStation 4 Pro, which can run 4K, the bump in smoother graphics might not seem significant.

The PS5 claims to support 8K, but the console’s resolution caps out at 4K in settings.

Sony has indicated that the PS5 is compatible with 8K displays at launch and will be able to display 8K “after a future software update.”

Where the PlayStation 5 starts to do its thing is in its processing power and superior graphics. It is much more powerful than the PlayStation 4 Pro and can launch games quickly and with greater visual clarity.

A screenshot of & quot; Spider-Man: Miles Morales. & Quot;
While playing an open world, horse riding game like “Ghost of Tsushima”, a PlayStation exclusive, the grass and plains looked sharper and crisper on PS5 than on PlayStation 4 Pro. These visual perks can be easy to miss if you don’t take a close look, and may not be a selling point for budget gamers who don’t care about having the best graphics.

The PlayStation 5 loads games about 10 to 20 seconds faster than the PlayStation 4 Pro. It can also read physical disks a few minutes faster. It could make a difference for impatient players.

Both consoles generate a decent amount of fan noise when playing physical discs or downloading new games from the internet. Sony said their goal for the PS5 was to make it quieter, but from our observation both were moderately loud. The Xbox Series X, by comparison, is much quieter than its predecessor, the Xbox One X.

All of the consoles I have tested reach around 120 degrees in temperature when engaged in intense gameplay.

Sony is losing out on entertainment and other apps it offers on the PS5. It only has 24 apps, compared to more than 50 on the Xbox Series X. Sony offers apps like Netflix and Hulu, but it lacks several that can be found on the X series like Pandora, Sling or Starz.

Games it supports

The most captivating part of the PlayStation 5 is its next-gen games, which will be available on launch day.

One of them is pre-installed on each console. “Astro’s Playroom,” a three-dimensional platform game, feels next-gen from the start. It’s a great showcase for the redesigned controller of the PlayStation 5.

The game takes up around 11 GB of space, which might be boring for gamers looking to conserve every last gigabyte, but it’s Sony’s way of immediately getting you into the action when you load up the console.

The PlayStation 5 controller.

“Astro’s Playroom” creatively uses the new abilities of the PS5 controller, including a point where you can blow on your controller to make a fan blow into the game harder.

The game uses the speaker of the PS5 controller to bring these sounds closer together and make the environment more real. The PS4 controller also had a speaker, but not all games made use of it.

Then there’s Sony’s flagship PS5 exclusive, “Spider-Man: Miles Morales,” which turns up the excitement with a new protagonist seen in the 2018 hit movie “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” . It’s set in Harlem, New York and features ray tracing, a technology that adds more realistic lighting and shadow effects.

For starters, the game offers you to change your brightness settings, while it shows Miles Morales playing with his phone in the subway. It’s a nice transition in a game that features a lot of spider web slingshots and controller rumbles when fighting against gangsters and supervillains. It is the perfect demonstration of the capabilities of the PlayStation 5.

This holiday season, Sony is looking to land another hit with the PlayStation 5.

While the biggest draw on the PlayStation platform will remain games, not all new titles are exclusive to the PS5. “Miles Morales” will be available on PlayStation 4, which may deter some people from immediately upgrading. “Astro’s Playroom”, meanwhile, is exclusive to PS5.

An optimized version of “Ghost of Tsushima” takes full advantage of the PS5 controller, giving off very specific “pitter patter” vibrations as the samurai lands on its feet, while the PS4 controller emits a more generic rumble for the same action.

The PS5 comes with 825GB of storage, which I used way too quickly. The console required 100GB to run apps and games properly, which left me around 700GB to download games. I was able to do nine games before I ran out of space. Additional storage can be purchased which could increase the price.

Everything you need to know

The console itself is taller and wider than the PlayStation 4 and looks like a gigantic filing cabinet and when turned on the black trim looks very attractive.

When you load the PlayStation 5 for the first time, you are greeted by a luxurious user interface dotted with iridescent bubbles. It has a black backdrop, suitable for fans of dark mode on apps.

The PS5 home page, which plays music from titles you own.

This is a big difference from the solid blue background of the PlayStation 4 Pro. The new interface also plays music from games in your library, like jazz from “Persona 5” and hip hop from “Spider-Man: Miles Morales”.

Make sure to transfer your save data from your PlayStation 4 to your PS5, as the system might not do it for you. My PS5 didn’t save my progress in games like “Ghost” and “Final Fantasy VII: Remake” until I entered settings manually through a complicated process to transfer it. Sony has stated that this data transfer process is common for new PS5 owners. The Xbox Series X, on the other hand, offers instant cross-save.

You can take screenshots or record your game for an hour and upload files to social media or to a USB drive. This is compared to Microsoft, which allows you to easily upload photos and videos to the One Drive.

At the end of the line

If you already own a PS4 Pro, as opposed to an older PlayStation 1080p, the benefits of the PlayStation 5 can be a little more elusive. Still, for $ 500 you get a sleek new UI and slightly better looking games, but that’s about it.

Sony’s challenge may be to get gamers to upgrade their systems while the PS4 supports most of the new games released. As developers start making games just for PS5, the console could become more attractive.

But for people excited to buy now, the PlayStation 5 doesn’t disappoint with the experiences of “Miles Morales” and “Astro’s Playroom” which hint at the potential for other titles to come. The future of PlayStation is very bright.

[ad_2]

Source link